Natalie Merchant will perform and discuss a selection of songs from her forthcoming Nonesuch release at the new Free Word Centre in London on November 18. She has been researching, writing, and recording a collection of songs adapted from the works of various classic and contemporary poets; the evening will give a unique insight into the project prior to the album’s release in early 2010.
Natalie Merchant will perform and discuss a selection of songs from her forthcoming album release at the newly established Free Word Centre in London on Wednesday, November 18. For the past five years, Merchant has been researching, writing, and recording a collection of songs adapted from the works of various classic and contemporary poets, including Charles Causley, Robert Graves, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. The evening will give the audience a unique insight into the project prior to the album’s release in early 2010. The album will be Merchant’s first new studio recording in seven years and her first for Nonesuch Records. Tickets for this event are free but advance booking is required. Visit freewordonline.com for tickets.
Launched in September of this year, Free Word is a new center for literature, literacy, and free expression, hosting regular talks, screenings, and performances. A charitable organization, Free Word works to promote, protect, and democratize the power of the written and spoken word for creative and free expression. Shreela Ghosh, Free Word’s new director, said, “Experiment and risk-taking are central to Free Word’s vision, so we are delighted to welcome Natalie Merchant with her innovative style of performance, to this unique new venue in the heart of literary London."
Merchant says of the project:
I began adapting poetry to music as an exercise in freeing myself from established writing habits. The focus of the subject matter is childhood for the most part, but many different aspects of childhood as seen from various points of view. There is no one all-pervasive mood; it is actually the most emotionally varied collection of songs I have ever grouped together on an album. The songs range from comical and absurd to profoundly spiritual.
Further details about the forthcoming album and international tour dates will be announced shortly. Dates already confirmed include an appearance at the opening of this year’s London Jazz Festival on November 13, a performance at London’s Conway Hall on November 16, and a concert at Celtic Connections in Glasgow on January 28. For more information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
- Log in to post comments
